Genesis Chapter 41

It came to pass at the end: Heb. מִקֵץ. The Targum renders: מִסוֹף, at the end, and every expression of קֵץ means end.

ויהי מקץ: כתרגומו מסוף, וכל לשון קץ סוף הוא:

by the Nile: Heb. עַל-הַיְאֹר, lit., by the canal. No other rivers are called יְאוֹרִים except the Nile, because the entire land is covered with many man-made canals (יְאוֹרִים), and the Nile rises in their midst and waters them, for it does not usually rain in Egypt as it does in other countries.

and beaten: Heb. וּשְׁדוּפוֹת. hasled(e)s in Old French, burnt up, parched; וּשְׁקִיפָן קִדּוּם [in Targum Onkelos], beaten, an expression similar to מַשְׁקוֹף, lintel, which is constantly beaten by the door, which knocks against it.

and behold, a dream: And behold, a whole dream was completed before him, and it required interpreters.

והנה חלום: והנה נשלם חלום שלם לפניו והוצרך לפותרים:

8Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; so he sent and called all the necromancers of Egypt and all its sages, and Pharaoh related to them his dream, but no one interpreted them for Pharaoh.

that his spirit was troubled: Heb. וַתִּפָּעֶם [Onkelos renders:] that his spirit was agitated, knocking within him like a bell (כְּפַעִמוֹן) (Tanchuma Buber, Mikeitz 4). Concerning Nebuchadnezzar, however, Scripture says:“and his spirit was agitated (וַתִּתְפָּעֶם)” (Dan. 2:1). There were two [reasons for this] agitation: forgetting the dream and ignorance of its interpretation. — [from Tanchuma Mikeitz 2]

the necromancers: Heb. חַרְטֻמֵי, those who would arouse themselves (נֶחֱרִים) with the bones (טִימֵי) of the dead, so that they would [be able to] inquire of the bones. ([The word] טִימֵי means “bones” in Aramaic. In the Mishnah (Oholoth 17:3), we find: A house that was full of “timia,” meaning “full of bones.”)

but no one interpreted them for Pharaoh: They did interpret them, but not for Pharaoh, for their voice did not reach his ears, and he had no satisfaction from their interpretation, for they said, “You will beget seven daughters, and you will bury seven daughters.” - [from Gen. Rabbah 89:6]

each one according to the interpretation of his dream: A dream fit for the interpretation that was interpreted for us and similar to it. [I.e., a dream for which the interpretation given was appropriate, and which was similar to that interpretation.]

איש כפתרון חלומו: חלום הראוי לפתרון שנפתר לו ודומה לו:

12And there with us was a Hebrew lad, a slave of the chief slaughterer, and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; [for] each [of us], he interpreted according to his dream.

me he restored to my position: [“He” refers to] Pharaoh, mentioned above, as he said,“Pharaoh was angry with his servants” (verse 10). Hence, the verse is elliptical: it did not specify who restored, because it is not necessary to specify who restored, [for it could only be] the one who has the power to restore, namely Pharaoh. This is customary for all elliptical verses. Concerning the one who is to do [the thing], they leave the matter unspecified.

from the dungeon: Heb. מִן-הַבּוֹר, lit., from the pit. From the prison, which was made like a sort of pit, and so every [instance of] בּוֹר in the Scriptures is an expression of“pit.” Even if there is no water in it, it is called בּוֹר, fosse in Old French, a pit.